Behind Schedule: The Roger Eli, Book Blog (Part 11)
In The Potting Shed
By Dave Thomas
September 17 2011
Two meetings a week to try and catch up is difficult and the publisher wants things by the end of October. Alas, Roger has a business to run. So we tried an all-dayer in the Potting Shed. During the last meeting a very personable young waitress came up to the table and asked very politely and with obvious curiosity who were we and what we did. She said everyone on the staff was curious to know but she was the only one with the spark to come and ask.
“Are you writing a book,” she asked with a grin. “We think you are.” So we told her everything she wanted to know and it turned out she was a student, this was her last day, and she was working towards being a Sports Masseur. Roger explained to her who he was, that he was an ex footballer and where he’d played. Then a funny thing happened. She was more taken aback when I said I’d been a headmaster. Her face dropped. “Really,” she exclaimed. Actually she looked quite horrified. Headmasters must have this awesome presence. What is it about them – distant, frightening figures, that as time goes by put the willies up people. Is it because they were threatening figures in our dim and distant past and that feeling never goes away. I always thought I was rather a nice headmaster. The mums were so polite to me. In fact whenever they told me to “f**k off” they always said “please Mr Thomas.” It was the same with Dean West when I met him at Burnley years after I had taught him at Thorpe School. It was in the café they used to have across the car park and the players had just come out of the gymn because it was too icey to train at Gawthorpe. He was hugely surprised and a huge grin crossed his face. But he would not call me anything other than Mr Thomas. For goodness sake I said why not. You were my headmaster he said and I could never call you anything else. Mind you he called me a few other things in the classroom. As if to prove a point he informed Gareth Taylor, “This is my old headmaster.” I still miss that café. The bacon sandwiches were OK. Mrs T thinks my world revolves round Full English breakfasts or bacon sandwiches. Rubbish – I like egg and chips as well.
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